Almost
by GrnDy13
Summary: Instead of moving into the Murder House when Violet is a teenager, the Harmon family makes their move when she is a mere four years old. Following her life as she ages, growing into the young adult we all know and love, she comes across many conflicts that only a dead, blonde, murderous, yet still somehow incredibly loving and gentle, sociopath knows how to fix.
1. Chapter 1

"Who are you?" There was little girl looking to be about four years old questioning the older boy that was standing in the corner of her large new bedroom.

"I'm Tate, who are you?"

"I'm Violet! Violet Harmon! This is my new room! Isn't it nice? It's so much bigger than my old room! I miss the old one though because grandma and grandpa still live near there."

Violet bounded over to the bed that was set against the wall opposite her bedroom door, her shiny dirty blond hair bouncing around her shoulders. The teenage boy that she had just greeted was staring at her with a baffled expression. He couldn't understand why there was a little girl in his old bedroom. When did her family buy the house? He had seen the "for sale" sign out front but he didn't remember seeing anyone tour the home. He was even more confused by the girl's ability to see him. He was fairly certain he had hidden himself before she walked in. How could this Violet girl see him? He was mulling over these thoughts when she spoke again.

"I'm sorry that you live far away from your grandma and grandpa now. I'm sure you'll still see them on holidays and stuff though," Tate broke his short silence, unsure of what else to say.

"I didn't think of that! I really can't wait until Christmas now! Oh, and Tate? Mommy said the house was empty for a long time before we came here, so why are you here?" It surprised Tate how quickly this little girl could change subjects.

"Oh, I'm here because I have to be here. It's a long and… and sad... and... sort of scary story. But that's okay. I won't bother you. I'm actually really happy you're here. I haven't had anyone to talk to for a long time," Tate didn't want to tell her why he was here. He knew that telling a four year old that he was a ghost who's been stuck in her new home since before she was even born wasn't a very good idea. Whether he liked it or not, he was here and he couldn't leave, so the two would have to find a way to get along. Especially if he couldn't hide himself from her.

"You can tell me the story, I won't get scared. I'm a big girl now! Mommy said so after I tied my shoes this morning!" Violet put a shining grin on her rosy-cheeked face and patted the spot next to her on the bed. Tate visibly hesitated, making her huge grin lessen to an unsure smile. At her obvious deflation, Tate quickly hid his hesitation and moved over to where Violet's hand was still holding his spot. He sat down and tried to figure out what to tell her. He didn't want to scare her but he also didn't want to lie. He had always hated liars.

"So, Violet, it's a long story. And you still have unpacking to do, so I'm going to make this nice and short, okay? Maybe I'll tell you the rest some other day."

"Okay, if you insist," Violet had a slight pout on her face. When Tate started talking again, it disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

"I'm what you might call a ghost. You know what a ghost is? Of course you do, everyone does. Anyway, I'm a ghost and I'm stuck here. And most people can't see me. I don't know why you can… maybe it's because you're so little and you still believe in ghosts and whatnot. Do you believe in ghosts? I'm guessing you do. Maybe that's why you can see me. Who knows? But yeah, I'm a ghost because I, y'know, died. And I died in this house, so I'm haunting it… I guess. Is that good enough? Oh! And please don't tell your parents about me… they might get freaked out… or they might think you're crazy… and I just don't want to cause problems, okay?"

Violet was quiet for a few moments, clearly trying to process everything that he said. Tate waited with bated breath. When Violet did speak again, it wasn't at all what he expected to hear.

"But aren't ghosts supposed to be mean and scary? You're so nice and not scary!"

"Uh… yeah. I'm really not sure. Did you hear everything I said? Because it was important," he stressed. He wanted to be sure she wouldn't tell her parents about. He wasn't sure how they would react and the last thing he wanted was for them to leave and doom him to loneliness again. Well, not exactly loneliness, what with the other ghosts roaming the same halls he did. It was more of a feeling of being shunned. The other ghosts didn't like him. Hell, who did? Other than this odd little girl. She would hate him in time, of that he was convinced.

"I won't tell mommy and daddy, I promise. They probably wouldn't listen anyway. They always tell me that they're too busy," Violet's words confused Tate a bit.

"Too busy for what? Too busy to talk?"

"No, too busy for me. They said they have to work so they have money to pay for things and that I can't bother them while they're working. They never talk to me or play with me or read stories with me. They always say they're too busy to do silly things like that. They fight a lot too... and I always seem to be one of the things they fight about."

Tate's heart thumped painfully in his dead chest. How could her parents ignore and hurt her in such a way? She was such an adorable and sweet little girl. The last thing she deserved was to be treated like that.

"Listen to me Violet," Tate turned his head of shaggy, sandy hair towards her and made sure she was paying close attention to him, "I promise, for as long as you live here, I will be here for you to talk to. If you have a bad day, tell me about it. If you have a good day, tell me about it, okay? We can play whatever games you want too. And if you find a book that you like, we can read it together, sound like a plan?" Violet's whiskey eyes were twinkling. She smiled the biggest smile Tate had ever seen. In the blink of an eye she had her tiny arms wrapped around his neck in a sweet embrace.

"Sounds like a plan! Thank you, thank you, thank you Tate! I told you you were nice!" Tate chuckled and returned the tight hug, happy to have made her smile, no matter how wrong she was in her happiness. He wasn't nice, and he never had been. After a moment, they released each other and Tate spoke again.

"Now, how about I help you set up your room, little miss?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**one year later**_

"I don't want to go to school tomorrow, I don't even know what it is," Violet was sprawled on her bed, laying on her stomach while Tate sat in the chair that belonged to her desk. She was complaining about school and he was trying to make her feel better about it. He hated school when he was alive, but he wanted to be as positive as he could be for her.

"You might have fun. You'll probably just read books and do some spelling or something. And you'll meet a whole bunch of kids your age. You'll probably make lots of friends," Tate was convinced she would do well. She was incredibly smart for a girl her age and she was very likable. She always found a way to make him smile and he knew she could do that for the kids at her school. The only thing he wasn't positive about was the idea of her no longer being home all day. He wouldn't be able to see her as much and that would be enough to ruin his day.

"But I won't see you all day Tatey. I wish you could come to school with me," she was looking at him with puppy dog eyes and he was fighting the rising smile on his face. He adored the nickname she had graced him with as of late. She had decided Tate was too short and "not fun" to say, and that Tatey, or Tatey Bear, sounded better. She had also decided to officially name her teddy bear Tatey, after him. He loved it. He also loved how she was just as upset as he was about being apart for 6 hours a day. They were the best of friends, always talking and laughing together. There were a few times in the past year that Violet's parents had heard them or walked in on them being a bit loud and he was glad she had never accidentally outed him. She always told them that it was the T.V. or a book that she had been laughing at. It was obvious that they didn't always believe her, but they disregarded it as her just being a normal and "obnoxious little kid" as they liked to call her. Tate seethes when he hears them say that under their breath. She was the sweetest little girl on the planet, she didn't deserve such careless and heartless parents. At that thought, Tate stood up from the desk chair and stepped over to her bed, gesturing at himself with his hands.

"Hug?" Violet smiled and sprang up, bouncing on her bed a bit. The leverage that the bed gave her made her the perfect height to easily wrap her arms around Tate's neck. He picked her up and spun her around, then fell onto his back on the bed with Violet still in his arms.

"I can't go to school with you darlin'. But I'll be right here the second you get home and you can tell me all about your day and all of the kids you meet, okay?" Tate smiled comfortingly at Violet, beginning to sense a bit of nervousness flowing through her. As much as he wished for the summer to be endless, it was coming to a close. It was getting late and he knew her mom and dad would be putting her to bed soon. He lifted her small body off of his torso and placed her on her feet, sending her to find a bedtime story for the night. A few moments later she returned with her favorite, a short story called Goodnight Moon, that he knows almost by heart. He then asked her to change into her pajamas while he stepped outside of the room. When she finished, she made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair. When she was all done she trotted back to her room, reluctant to go to bed, knowing what the morning would bring. She climbed under her covers and spoke quietly with Tate, who was sat at the end of her bed, waiting for her mother and father to bid her goodnight. When they finally came in, she hugged and kissed them both quickly, ignoring their forced excitement and cheesy pep talks that they dumbly thought would make her feel better about her first of day of school.

Tate, who had disappeared upon their arrival, reappeared as soon as her light was shut off and the door was shut behind her parents. He was pleased that they had actually made a semblance of an effort to comfort her about school. In attempts to further that effort himself, he turned to her and tried to take her mind off of it all, beginning to read her favorite story. When he saw her eyes droop half-way through his reading, he closed the book and lightly made his way off of her bed. He brushed her long caramel hair out of her face and smiled at her, murmuring a good night that she was too tired to return. With that, he made his way to one of the guest rooms that he had called home ever since the Harmon family moved in and Violet took his room. He went to sleep (if that's what you would call a ghost's form of resting) and got ready for the day ahead.

Promptly at 7:30 a.m. the next morning, Mrs. Harmon pulled the shades open in Violet's room and called her name, awakening her immediately. Violet groaned and sat up while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She was making her way out of bed when her mother cheerfully asked her what she wanted to wear. Violet said she didn't really care, and made her way to the bathroom. She did her business and made her way back to her room where a flowy lavender dress and plum headband was waiting for her. She closed her door and moved to the bed where the outfit had been placed, when she sensed his presence.

"Tatey Bear," she whisper-yelled excitedly, making sure her parents wouldn't hear her from their bedroom down the hall. Still pajama-clad, Violet bounded over to where he stood in front of her bedroom door. His arms were held open for her and she took advantage of that, jumping into his arms with almost enough force to knock him over. He chuckled at her, hugging her for a moment before putting her down.

"I know you have to get ready but I wanted to wish you good luck today. You're going to do great, I know it."

"Thank you Tate! I'm nervous, but I'm excited. I'll miss you though!"

"I know, it's okay, I'll see you in a few hours," he tried to be positive to keep her from crying again. He had noticed her begin to tear up when he was reading to her the night before, but chose not to say anything as he didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"I know! I can't wait until the day is over so we can read or play checkers again. I know I'll beat you this time!" Violet was trying to change the subject. She was trying to delay the inevitable. She had to go to school, whether she liked it or not. She didn't like it. When she told Tate that she was excited, she was completely lying, and he could tell. He didn't want to cause any problems though. She had to go to school and learn, she couldn't be with him for every second of her life. Sure, she had gone to the store or other close places occasionally with her mom, and she had gone to visit her grandma and grandpa twice since the Harmons moved in, but this would be different. She would be gone for over six hours a day for five days a week. It would take some getting used to, for both of them.

"You just might! But you better get ready, don't want your mom yelling at you for being late on your first day, do you?" Tate put his hands on her shoulders, turned her toward her bed and gently pushed her in that direction. She reluctantly walked over and picked up the dress with a look of slight disgust. She loved the color, it was her favorite, but she had never liked that particular dress. Something about it being too "frilly" and "girly" if Tate remembered correctly.

"Alrighty darlin'. Time for me to go and you to get ready. I'll see you soon enough. Promise to at least try to have a good day? For me?" Tate gave her a sweet smile.

"For you Tatey. Bye bye," she waved her tiny hand at him and watched as he made his way out of her room. She turned to her outfit with tears in her eyes. She quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to her mother who was just placing breakfast on the kitchen table. She ate half of it and got up to brush her teeth, waiting for her mother to braid her hair for her. When Violet was all ready, she grabbed the backpack her mother had bought her just three days earlier and made her way to the door where her mother was waiting to drive her to school. When she reached the door, however, she stopped suddenly. Without warning, she began to cry, her gentle tears quickly turning into full out sobs. She threw her backpack on the ground and made to run upstairs, no doubt in search of Tate, when Vivien wrapped her arms tightly around her. She whispered comforting words in Violet's ear, trying desperately to calm her down. The words were not comforting or calming to Violet in the slightest. When Vivien realized her strong-willed daughter would not give in, she picked her and her disregarded backpack up and carried her to the car, strapping her in quickly and sliding into the driver's seat, beginning the short drive to the local elementary school. When they arrived less than 10 minutes later, Violet had calmed down quite a bit but still had tears streaming down her face. Turning to see her better, Mrs. Harmon asked Violet what was wrong.

"Why are you so upset honey? You seemed fine last night and earlier this morning," Vivien inquired.

"I'm going to miss… being at home mom," Violet responded.

"Oh you'll be home before you know it sweetie. Don't worry, okay? You'll have fun today," Mrs. Harmon said to her daughter as she made her way out of the car. She moved around to Violet's side of the car and helped her dry her tears. She held out the backpack for Violet to easily slide her arms through and led her into the school. She hugged her and said her goodbyes, Violet secretly wishing she was hugging Tate. She loved her mom, but Tate was the one who was always there to make her smile and talk to her about the silliest things. Her mother cared about her a great deal, but there was always something else that seemed to be more important than spending quality time with her.

Violet released her mom and turned to walk down the hallway to her classroom. A teacher who was standing nearby helped to guide her to the room she would be spending the next six hours in. The room that would be effectively keeping her away from her mom and Tate.

Six hours had come and gone like a flash for Mrs. Harmon who was waiting to pick up her daughter at school. As for Violet and Tate, however, the day seemed to drag on and on with no end in sight. When the bell rang to release the students, she sprinted to her mom's car and jumped in, buckling herself in and requesting her mother bring her right home.

"Hey, hey, hey, slow down hon'! Tell me about your day! Did you meet any nice kids? Do think you got a nice teacher?" These questions were annoying Violet but she knew she couldn't yell at her mom and figured the quicker she answered, the quicker she would get to see Tate.

"I only talked to the girl who sits at my table in class and the boy who sits at my table in class. They were nice but I don't like the same movies and T.V. shows that they do. Ms. Lanna seems nice I guess," Violet rushed the words out. Her mother was pleased with her answers and turned around in her chair, making her way towards home. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Violet took her seat belt off and grabbed her backpack, opening the car door and making a mad dash for the house. As soon as her mother unlocked the door, Violet placed her backpack on the hook in the entryway and hugged her mom, quickly muttering an "I love you" and ran up the stairs to her room. She threw the door open and found Tate sitting cross-legged on her bed with a book in his hands. He turned toward her and grinned, getting ready for her little body to slam into his. She jumped onto the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck tighter than ever before. Before he could even ask her how her day was, she answered for him.

"School stinks because you aren't there. But it's okay because you're here now. And I can tell you all about it and we can do fun things and we can do it all over again tomorrow and the next day and the next day and every day for the rest of forever, right Tatey Bear?" Violet looked at him through her lashes, her eyes glossy with unshed tears that she knew would spill over if he didn't say yes. Seeing these tears in her eyes, he smiled at her softly, pulling her arms off of his neck and shifting them so their legs were dangling over the edge of the bed, Willow perched on his left leg. He looked at her intently and gave her the answer she wanted to hear.

"Of course we can Vi. I'll always be here for you, okay? I love you darlin'," he admitted.

"Good, love you too, Tatey Bear." Violet had a smile on her face for the rest of the night.

 ** _Hey guys! I see quite a few of you are enjoying this story! I'm glad! It's been lots of fun to write and I'm excited to finally have a Tate and Violet story in the making. I love the pair and I've felt truly unsatisfied with Murder House's ending for almost 5 years now. I'm hoping this story can give fans of the show something to hold on to when it comes to this intriguing pairing whose end came too quickly... or did it? Have you heard the news? We're getting a whole season about Murder House and Coven! How exciting! Anywho, I'll shut up now. I hope you guys like this chapter. Read, review, follow, favorite, whatever your heart desires! I love seeing the feedback! The more I get, the more motivated I am to update! Love you guys!_**

 ** _Casey_**


	3. Chapter 3

**ten years later**

"You're way cooler than I had ever thought you'd be y'know," Violet said to the teenage boy that was laying on his stomach, propped up by his elbows next to her on her bed. Vivien and Ben were on some vacation, neglecting to include her because her "schoolwork was too important" so she had the house all to herself. Well, to herself and Tate. Against both her parents and his wishes, she had a friend come over to "chill", as the kids were calling it nowadays.

Trying to give Violet her privacy, Tate was reading in the office downstairs. Or, rather, he was trying to. He was too busy being shocked at himself to concentrate on the words. He was… jealous. It had never bothered him when Violet had friends over before so he couldn't understand why this visit was so different. Though, he had an inkling, deep down, that it was because she was with another boy. He could tell from the way her whiskey eyes twinkled when the doorbell rang that she felt something for this boy. Something that seemed to be beyond friendly. He had a feeling that this Jake kid, or whatever his name was, felt the same way about her.

"You're awesome too. And you have totally rad taste in music. Who knew you liked all the 90's classics? Nirvana and Morrissey? Hell yeah," the boy, Jake, said. Violet smiled in response to his compliment and turned up the volume on her stereo. With Nirvana's classic, "Heart-Shaped Box" blasting through the speakers, she looked over at him again. She admired the way his long, brown hair was constantly falling into his ocean blue eyes. She'd never say it out loud, but it reminded her of Tate's shaggy blonde hair that never seemed to stay out of his much darker brown eyes. While she was lost in thought, she didn't notice Tate's hand move until his fingers began turning her chin towards him. When their blue and hazel eyes met, Jake smiled.

"You're real cute when you're thinking, y'know that?" The noise from the radio faded into the background as Violet concentrated on his smooth voice. She unconsciously moved her eyes from his and looked a bit lower to his lips, wondering what they would feel like against her own. She had never kissed anyone before, and she knew Jake had. Because of her inexperience, she was too nervous to make the move. Jake, however, had noticed her eyes dart down and smirked to himself. He knew he could get her to kiss him. Now he was just seeing what it would take to get her to go further.

Jake moved to press his lips to Violet's. She froze for a few seconds before responding eagerly. It was very different from what she had imagined, but she was enjoying it. Jake moved from his position on his stomach to where he was holding his torso over Violet, who had been laying on her back the whole time. They broke off the kiss, Violet looking flustered with a goofy smile on her face.

"That was… fun," she said to Jake.

"Oh yeah? I bet we can have some more fun. Sound cool to you?" Violet nodded at him, understanding his words in a completely different way than he had meant them.

When Jake swung one of his legs over Violet's hips, placing a knee on each side of her, she was a bit confused. She had assumed they would keep kissing from where they were, not from this very, very intimate position. She would be lying if she said she wasn't uncomfortable. When he pressed his lips against hers again and made to slide his hands under her shirt, she had had enough. She grabbed his wrists and turned her head away from his, avoiding his continuing affections, if you could even call them that. He was behaving more like an animal at this point, trying to capture its prey. When he still wouldn't stop, moving his mouth to her now exposed neck, she really couldn't take it anymore.

"Jake… Jake. Get off! It isn't fun anymore… c'mon… Get off me!" Violet began thrashing under his considerably heavier weight. He just chuckled in between his forced kisses.

"You're the one who said you wanted to have more fun… now let's have more fun!" Jake ripped his hand out of her grip and made to pull the bottom of her long, floral dress up and the waistband of her burgundy tights down when she screamed a blood-curdling scream.

"Shut the hell up!" Jake yelled back at her. She paid no attention to his words, choosing to yell again instead. Only, she wasn't yelling at him, she was yelling for Tate.

"Tate! Tate help me! Please!" Violet screamed for him at the top of her lungs. Jake looked at her like she was crazy. Tate had avoided crossing paths with him when he entered the home, worried that Jake might see him. When Tate heard Violet's screams, however, he no longer cared who saw him.

Tate threw his book to the side, sprinting up the stairs to Violet's room. When he reached the door, he slammed it open, growling at the sight before him. Jake turned around, and in his shock, let go of Violet. Tate made it to the bed in two steps, grabbing Jake by the arm and roughly tugging him completely off of Violet's bed. He threw Jake on the ground and straddled him, just like he had been doing to Violet, and punched him in the face and torso over and over again. Jake tried to fight back, getting a punch in here and there but nothing could hurt Tate. Being a ghost had it perks. When Jake's face was satisfyingly pummelled, Tate got off of him and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him to his feet. When Jake got his footing, Tate punched him in the ribs, sending to the ground once again. This time, Tate grabbed him by the arm and all but dragged him out of Violet's room and to the balcony overlooking the first floor of the home. He told him to get up and Jake listened. Limping, he made his way down the stairs that Tate was beginning to tug him down and to the door. Before Tate shoved him out of the house once and for all, he pulled Jake's face close to his.

"If I find out that you so much as look at her again, I will end you. Do you understand?" Tate's threat was used only to strike fear in Jake's heart. He could only follow through on Halloween, his spirit stuck inside the house at all other times. While he could try and track him down on his one day of freedom a year, he knew it would be a hell of a long shot finding him in the enormous city of Los Angeles. Plus, why waste the one day that he can spend with Violet outside of the house doing whatever she wants to do, or doing something he might enjoy? He only wanted his threat to strike fear in Jake's heart and make sure he would never touch his precious Violet again.

Jake nodded, his swollen face already showing signs of severe bruising. Tate shoved him onto the brick walkway, watching as he struggled to lift himself off of the ground. When he did, he hobbled away, his arms wrapped tightly around his torso in obvious pain. Satisfied that he had handled that half of the situation, he closed the door and ran back upstairs to Violet.

He found her sitting on her bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and tears streaming down her face. The stereo was still playing loudly so he shut it off before approaching Violet. His heart broke seeing the tear tracks on her cheeks. Sure, in the 11 years she had lived there, he had seen her cry a fair share of times, but never like this. He climbed onto her bed, keeping his distance from her in fear of scaring her or making her uncomfortable.

"Violet? He's gone okay? I took care of it. What can I do? Tell me what to do to make you feel better," he requested of her. She just shook her head and began crying harder. Tate couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm going to hold you, is that okay?" Violet nodded slightly at Tate's request and with that, he moved to sit behind her and wrap his arms around her shoulders. She moved herself into his lap and they just sat. Violet was still crying and Tate was combing her disheveled hair with his fingers. What felt like an eternity later, the sniffles stopped and the room became silent. Realizing she was asleep, her head laying against his chest, Tate made to lay down with her. Exhausted from the night's events, she didn't budge other than to snuggle even closer to Tate. Pulling one of her blankets from the bottom of her bed over them, he looked at her lovingly. He brushed her hair out of her face once again and whispered a promise in her ear.

"I will never let anyone or anything hurt you Violet. Never again. I love you so much darlin'."

Kissing her on the forehead, he too decided to try and get some sleep. Little did he know, Violet hadn't quite been asleep yet. She heard every word he said and smiled a small smile, thankful that he would always be there for her.

 _ **A bit of a shorter chapter this time, but it came quicker and it's pretty fluffy, if I do say so myself! I hope you all enjoy the progression of Tate and Violet's relationship from simply being close to falling into absolute love with each other. I plan to have another chapter up soon, and this one may have to raise the rating from T to M. I'll be writing about Violet's depression and possibly the furthered relationship between her and Tate, possibly leading into some intimate stuff, if you know what I mean, haha. Anyway, as always, let me know what you think! The more reviews I get, the more likely I am to update sooner! Love you guys, thank you for reading!**_

 _ **Casey**_


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